New neighborhood market opening in Harveston

Harveston residents soon will be able to stroll next door to pick up a freshly-made sandwich, bag of chips and frosty beverage.

Beyond Food Mart, a Chino-based chain of convenience stores that bills itself as “vibrant, modern and upscale,” is set to open in the building on the northeastern edge of Harveston Lake.

That building, which was long intended for use as commercial space, had been used by the city as a community center for the last few years.

The store will have a soft opening on Friday, May 4, and a grand opening in a couple of weeks, said Moe Al Maataih, one of the chain’s owners.

Most of the chain’s 17 locations, said Al Maataih, are attached to gas stations. The Harveston store will be the family-owned company’s second stand-alone location.

During a brief tour on Monday afternoon, Al Maataih explained how the patio will be refurbished with a TV and lights to give patrons a nice place to enjoy their soda or organic coffee. In addition to mini-mart staples like chips and cookies, the mart will offer Thrifty-brand ice cream scoops and sandwiches.

The store will not be allowed to sell liquor due to its proximity to a public park, according to Luke Watson, the city’s director of community development.

Years ago, the owner of the Shell Station at the Temecula Parkway interchange, Lou Kashmere, was going to build a yogurt shop and a flash-fired pizza place at that site but he abandoned the project to focus on a brewery, which became Garage Brewing Company.

Al Maataih said his family, which purchased the building where Beyond is going and the lot to the north, has different plans for the land.